Wangari Maathai, defender from Kenya: a note before Copenhagen

Dear friend,
By the time you get this note I will be in Copenhagen attending a landmark summit on climate change.  The message from the Green Belt Movement (GBM) will be simple – the role of forests in mitigating climate change is undeniable. The message will be that we need an ambitious, just agreement that is legally-binding and one that will make a difference.

Kenya’s three-year drought and erratic rainfall is having devastating effects on communities across the country. In and around Nairobi, electricity and water have been rationed weekly because of the shortages. As you move further from the city, water becomes scarcer and the land becomes drier.  When women and their families don’t even have enough water for themselves, how can anyone expect them to use water on their tree seedlings and plants?

This is often the point when communities call upon the Green Belt Movement for guidance.

Over the span of 30 years that GBM has evolved in Kenya and within the region, generations have seen for themselves the difference that GBM communities have made in improving their livelihoods while replenishing their lands.  They understand that GBM is not just about planting trees.  More importantly, GBM is about how people come together to address their biggest challenges.

From the office to the field, GBM officers help implement grassroots development programs that are personalized to the needs of each community.  These programs include water harvesting, food security, income-generating activities, advocacy, and more.  And now, at a time when the world’s changing climate is affecting our part of the world worse than any other, communities in need of learning how to adapt are seeking us out more than ever…

In fact, the demand for GBM’s support across the region is so high that responding to it is a daily challenge.  So now the Green Belt Movement is calling upon friends, like you, for your support to continue and expand its involvement with communities across the continent.

There are no quick fixes to the challenges of community development.  Just as seeds require nurturing to become the trees that our grandchildren will sit beneath, so too do communities require our time and patience to adopt the skills that will help them adapt and survive.  Continuing this work is both our biggest success and our biggest challenge.  And it is for this mission that I thank you and ask for your support today.

With gratitude and respect,

Wangari
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